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Wednesday, July 06, 2011

We arrived in Skagway on the morning of our third day at sea (Friday). I love this little clapboard town nestled under a large range of mountains (which pretty much describes all of the coast line). If I were moving to Alaska, this would be my first destination. Population 800 and a few probably would be a little bit of a shock, 15 teachers in the entire town might cause a few work condition difficulties, but it's nice to dream. It's gorgeous. One thing I was surprised to see all over Alaska were colorful flowers, including wild Irises.

There is one main row of shops, with a few sprouting off the sides to streets that house residential buildings, and the famous Yukon Railway that climbs up into the mountain for the men who game to join the gold rush.

The town itself is pretty colorful with wooden side walks and little stops along the way like the Red Onion, which was, once upon a time a really popular bordello for those gold rushers. I skipped that on this trip, and we took advantage of our only day of sunshine and shopped. I wasn't sure what to wear, but when the sun is out, it's too warm for a coat, and I was grateful for the decision to dress in layers and to be able to get down to capris and a tshirt.

We also enjoyed one excursion in the morning (again, probably one of my favorite parts of the who trip) up to a mountain (the ride up was beautiful and adventurous), and at the top....a dog camp. There were several drivers, but this was ours, and he was so sweet. I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home. He is up here for the summer working, and has 40 dogs of his own he's training, and runs in the winter in the various races, such as the Iditerod.

There was no snow, so our sled was this little contraption.

Sure enough, the dogs were yipping as soon as they heard the big 4 wheel drive truck headed up to the top of the mountain where they live....well, all but one.

The dogs pulled us through a really pretty woodlined path, and our guide shared some of his stories in regards to his career choice.

After our ride, we rode back to the bottom where there were more guides sharing some ofthe stories from the trail, and information about the in depth what, hows, wheres, and whys. And then...there were puppies. Alaskan Huskies. I want 16 of these! Love this picture of my Mom and the puppy I haven't yet been able to steal.

There were also retired dogs laying around the camp, including this guy who had a perch on a bench letting whoever who wandered by love on him a little. We all had a little love to give.

Dear Skagway, Please consider hiring a 16th teachers. I think we could be good friends. Sincerely, Christy